Young Adult Literature and Multimedia--Resources
The Elusive Alternative
by Daniel Smith
Alternative music existed long before it was termed “alternative”. In the 60s bands like The Velvet Underground were “underground”, and in the 70s, Punk bands from the U.K. fell under this umbrella term. In the 80s, the now famous band from Athens, Georgia, R.E.M., was labeled alternative, and in the 90s, the hugely successful grunge bands, mostly from the Seattle area, were classified by this same moniker. The term “alternative music” actually began to be used in the 80s, but my premise is that as soon as you are labeled alternative, you aren’t anymore. It’s a paradox that bears exploring, because from my readings, it seems that any “alternative” band that is really good, then gets “discovered” and subsequently becomes “popular”, even if they don’t want to be. Popularity then becomes the new enemy for the bands that in many cases just wanted to make their own special brand of music. Many of these “discovered” bands self-destruct or evolve into a mainstreamed diluted version. My question is this: Are you still an “alternative” band once you have been mainstreamed and commercially successful?
College radio has been the home for alternative music since the 1980s. The college airways have been the true alternative to commercial stations that play “popular” music to sell commercial time and make a profit. College radio’s alternative music formats have been compared to baseball’s minor league where developing talent is always being scouted for those bands ready to make it to the “big time”, or to commercial radio station play lists. What I found interesting from an article entitled, “The Role of Alternative Programming in College Radio” by Samuel J. Sauls, was that more high school students listen to these same college stations than do college students themselves. These are the same high school students who have read or are still reading young adult literature both in school and for pleasure. These inquisitive minds are often looking for something new and non-traditional. Alterative music might appeal to them in the same ways that cutting edge literature that deals with real issues in their lives does.
In conversations with those who listen to alternative music, I often get the feeling that their generation doesn’t necessarily want “their” music to become commercial and therefore more accessible to mainstreamed audiences, especially adults. Alternative means “alternative to what their parents listen to” for many of them. I get the feeling they would like to keep it that way. Here is a fictitious, but plausible conversation between me and one of my students:
Mr. Smith: Hey, I was just listening to that band ________. Pretty cool vibe, wouldn’t you say?
Savvy Student: Like Mr. Smith, that band is so yesterday. They’ve really sold out, you know.
Mr. Smith: Yeah, that’s probably why I heard of them in the first place.
Savvy Student: That’s cool Mr. Smith, but maybe you should go back to listening to your classic rock like Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd.
Mr. Smith: Good advice, have a nice day.
While our generation can go to the library and read YA Literature, the latest alternative music is not only available on college radio stations, but all over the internet, from You Tube to My Space. Finding this music by chance becomes less and less of a possibility.
A few years ago our school librarian recommended the novel Fat Kid Rules the World which is the story of a high school misfit who gets involved in the world of grunge music with the help of a free-spirited character that is loosely based on Kurt Cobain, the late singer/guitar player for band Nirvana, which reluctantly spearheaded the rise of “alternative” music in the early 90s. It’s an insightful and hilarious read as one enters the world of the alternative music scene; a world that our generation can generally only read about. It might be one of our best alternatives.
alternative rock. (2008). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved June 16, 2008, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9094822
Going, K.L. (2004). Fat Kid Rules the World. New York, NY: Puffin.
History of Alternative Music. (2003). Retrieved June 19, 2008, from Silver Dragon Records Web site: http://silverdragonrecords.com/alternative_rock.htm
Sauls, Samuel J (1998). The Role of Alternative Programming in College Radio. RIEJUL1998. 1-19.
These lesson plans, guides, and other resource materials for young adult literature topics were created by participants in a professional development course in young adult Literature. Each resource is copyrighted by the individual educator who developed the material. The present course being taught is titled: Teaching Young Adult Literature in the Classroom from the University of Wisconsin-Stout (Sharron L. McElmeel, instructor)